EDITOR'S COMMENTS

From Antique Radio Classified for November 1996(Copyright 1996 by John V. Terrey - For personal use only.)

A touch of fall in the air seems to bring on a frenzy of activity in the radio collecting community. This is particularly true here in northern climes where a tree, early touched with red and gold, reminds us that this season of great outdoor flea markets is drawing to a close. And so it was with a sense of urgency and anticipation that radio collectors from all over the world gathered in Illinois and New York to enjoy Radiofest and the AWA Conference, held this year only a week apart.

In fact, the excitement conveyed by the reports and photos of these events led us to conclude that they should be the focus of this issue. Whether or not you attended AWA or Radiofest, A.R.C.'s action-packed pages offer as accurate a record of the proceedings as we could muster. The photos are especially good reminders of the unusual equipment and the interesting people that make the fall radio-collecting season so exciting. Enjoy!

News of two Canadian events is a welcome reminder that our northern neighbors are keeping up our interests. Larry Babcock tells us of his enjoyable time at the September London Vintage Radio Club meet in Guelph, Ontario. And winter does not deter the Toronto collectors, as Gary Borton reports that a new show and sale called "Relics of the Electric Age" will be held there on December 8. Also reported in this issue is the Colorado Radio Collectors' 5th annual auction in Denver. More than 100 lots brought over $2,000 in bids.

Photo Review contrasts the sizes of a small Dick Tracy 2-way radio and a huge Western Electric 250-watt broadcast transmitter. Radio Miscellanea offers some comments on the meet in Elgin and on the A.R.C. web site.

Candace Savage's review of Eric Rhoads' book Blast from the Past -- A Pictorial History of Radio's First 75 Years will tempt you to put this handsome book on your holiday gift list. This month marks the first anniversary of our World Wide Web site, and we asked Cathy Faye Rudolph, who designed and maintains our site, to write a 1-year review of its development. By the way, "hits" are now running more than 100 per day, totaling over 20,000 visits logged in the last year. If you have access to the World Wide Web, check us out at "http://www.antiqueradio.com".

Statement of Ownership. The required U.S. Postal Service statement appears in this issue and shows that our paid circulation is 8,153. Thanks to all of you for your support of A.R.C. throughout the past twelve years.

Coming Radio Events. With the holidays approaching, radio event activity is moderating only slightly -- there are over 40 events for the collector this month in the U.S and Canada. Don't miss the 2-day Southern California Antique Radio Society Meet in Van Nuys, California. And in December, international events of note are being held in London, England, Toronto, Canada and Vienna, Austria.

Happy Collecting!

John V. Terrey, Editor

ON THE COVER

In keeping with this year's AWA Conference theme -- "100 Years of Atwater Kent" -- our cover is a photo of an advertising display, shown at the conference as part of the extensive collection of Atwater Kent expert Ralph Williams. For more about this display, see the Atwater Kent "Dealer's Helps" article.